Intense, uncompromising, inspirational, comedian Bill Hicks died 20 years ago
this week. Here are five ways you can be more like him

There’s an infinity of things one can learn from William Melvin Hicks ("Bill" to all but perhaps his mum), the accidental demi-god of comedy.

Born in Valdosta, Georgia – an eyelet in America’s Bible Belt – in 1961, Hicks was a stew of contradictions who, to peddle a cliché and quote Sinatra, did things "his way". Here was a man who loudly scorned religion in spite of his own Southern Baptist upbringing, denounced war as murder in the most jingoistic land on Earth and proudly eulogised smoking while everyone else condemned its risks. Also sparing time to encourage those who worked in advertising to kill themselves (because, why not?), Hicks didn’t just upset the apple cart, he laced Granny Smiths with cyanide and sold them with a knowing smirk.

A voracious performer who was critically adored while he lived, Hicks’ legacy has bloated further in the 20 years since he died of pancreatic cancer, aged just 32. This is inevitably in part due to nostalgia, but also as he embodies the antidote to the safe, diluted, family-fun comedy of today. It’s unlikely you would’ve seen Hicks recite scripted barbs on Mock The Week, lend his voice for an ad campaign or embrace Michael McIntyre on a "roadshow" stage in some Home Counties backwater, had he not passed away.

Though he never painted himself as a messiah, Hicks inspired not only a generation of angsty, anti-establishment stand-ups, but anyone who saw his act and who prized self will over blindly following the powers-that-be.

If we apply Hicks' trademark snark to masculinity, perhaps we could all be a bit more like him. Here are five things mankind can learn from the book of Bill – not that he’d agree with us “corporate shills” for one second, of course.

Hicks didn’t just admit his failings, he celebrated them with tongue planted firmly in cheek. With his fraught relationship with drugs, cigarettes and alcohol forming a large part of his act, a lesser-known fact is that for all his slights on religion, Hicks was by no means an atheist; exploring numerous spiritual paths, such as Transcendental Meditation. Not that it stopped him ribbing all manner of faiths, that is.

2. You’re not indestructible

Bill Hicks’ death in 1994 was heartbreaking for comedy fans, yet it was also the sobering outcome of a life of excess. Though it’s true the precise causes of pancreatic cancer are still somewhat unknown, it’s not surprising that Hicks’ 50-a-day ciggie habit and sometime alcoholism were thought to have greased the wheels. Of course, as with Dean, Hendrix and Monroe before him (and countless more since), there’s a romance attached to public figures living fast and dying young, but given his time again Hicks may have toned it down (even if only a little) in return for another few decades with us.

3. Don’t settle for mediocrity

“We’re supposed to keep evolving,” Hicks once said on stage. “Evolution did not end with us growing opposable thumbs … there's another 90 percent of our brains that we have to illuminate.” Though he was directing a jibe at the Church and state having zero bearing on modern life, Hicks’ Darwin-rivalling evolutionary theory can be easily applied to anyone seemingly trapped in a dead end job/town/relationship, because…

4. You can do things on your terms

Bill Hicks never sold out. Granted, we’ll never truly know if he would’ve been seduced by lure of the lucrative corporate teet – something that’s taken in such musical mavericks as Johnny Rotten and Snoop Dogg – had he hit hard times, but given his hearty disdain for "The Man", it’s unlikely. Both in life and then in death, Hicks built a loyal fan base without ever toeing the line or censoring himself, even if it did mean banishment from television, as withhis infamous appearance on Letterman in 1993.

5. It’s just a ride

Arguably Hicks’ most famous offering was in fact no joke, but a soliloquy about existence, on stage at London’s Dominion Theatre, in what turned out to be his last UK appearance. Poignant and philosophical, it’s an astute nod to mankind’s fleeting imprint on the planet and a timely reminder to not get entangled in the cobweb of modern society. So try to bear that in mind next time you’re having a rage-fit because the printer’s out of ink. It is just a ride, after all.